Your patient advocate can support you in specific ways, like during hospital visits, or through your overall healthcare experience. A patient advocate should have many qualities that help you navigate the healthcare maze and offer ease and comfort when working together. Your advocate can be a family member, friend, caregiver, or professional health advisor or advocate. Cultivate your communication skills to be able to argue your client’s case to doctors and insurance providers effectively. Because they have the most direct interaction with patients, nurses are in the ideal position to advocate for each one on an individual basis. By Charis: Patient, Chronic Disease Advocate & Blogger at BeingCharis.com. The qualities a good advocate needs include: The qualities a good advocate needs include: Being assertive and comfortable talking with doctors and healthcare providers and getting them to answer questions in plain English Finding one who has the experience and skills you need will be even harder. A guide to finding or being a patient advocate. Professional health care advocates may spend a good deal of time away from the office, meeting with members of the public or staging informational events. Advocates, who are often former nurses or other health professionals, link patients and the health-care system. If you advocate for advanced life support and the patient does not wish to be resuscitated, you are not advocating for your patient. Increasing use of medical care to treat complex illnesses, such as diabetes, has resulted in escalating need for experts who are trained to help patients navigate a complex healthcare system. Some people are naturally better at advocacy than others. A true patient advocate is difficult to find. Enter the patient advocate, part of a growing field. While a necessary measure, these policies can cause extra anxiety for the families of patients, says Kay Van Wey, a patient safety advocate and … Because professionals in this position could possibly do a disservice to their clients if they step outside of their professional boundaries or knowledge base, it is critical to hire a patient advocate who is aware of how they can genuinely respect both patients … Charis: Patient, Chronic Disease Advocate & Blogger at BeingCharis.com Get Involved: 14 Ways to Become a Patient Advocate. The candidate's answer to this question will display their knowledge of best practices and their integrity as a patient advocate. Volunteers can be wonderful, and the price may be right, but they often don't have the experience you need to be sure you're getting the best care you can get. Becoming an effective advocate may require learning about good advocacy practices as well as having a lot of patience and perseverance. Ask questions, or ask for help to get the best possible medical care for a loved one. There is not a one-size-fits-all way to become a chronic disease advocate or activist. You need to know what the patient needs in that moment, from the resources available to you. A: To be a good patient advocate, you need to have patience, compassion, and a strong desire to get the best care possible for patients. Successfully advocating for your patient is knowing their wants and needs. The patient advocate profession is considered to be a growing one, as an aging population makes extended use of medical services. Stay informed about changes to government and insurance provider policies, as these policies are often modified.